Meet the Mountain Horse

At first glance almost any avid sledder that rides anything from a 150 hp

stock 800 to a full-out boosted 250 hp mod sled would look at the Timbersled

Mountain Horse Snowbike kit and think of a slow stuckfest ride through the

woods on an underpowered bike.

I mean, how can something with such little horsepower and small track go

through the power and not get stuck, right?

Wrong. They say seeing is believing. And Timbersled’s Allen Mangum gave me

an opportunity to believe this past winter when he took me out riding.

Right off the bat we loaded the three bikes into the back of Mangum’s truck

(yes, I said three) and headed to the mountains. Once on the mountain, the

bikes made for a quick and easy unload. It’s amazing that one person can load

and unload these bikes without any problems once you get a system down.

After gearing up, Mangum offered a few pointers to help us adapt from sleds

to snowbikes and we were off.

Getting on the Mountain Horse snowbike is the most unnatural feeling in

the world. (Have your legs fallen asleep and then you try to walk? Well, that’s

how the first mile on the trail felt … in fact, right off most will hate how the bike

feels and want to get back on a sled.) But after a few miles Mangum stopped

and asked us if we were ready for some hills. “Umm, ya sure,” I mumbled as he

pointed his snowbike up a steep ravine and took off.

Still uneasy about the feel of the bike, we turned them into the sidehill and

this was where things started to change. Right off one can tell this system is

made for the steep. In fact, the worse it got the better off I seemed to be. We

spent a few minutes on an open hillside learning the feel of the bikes and then it

was off to the hellholes.

I was amazed at how slow I could take the Mountain Horse snowbike through

and up a slope that I would have previously considered reserved for the best of

the best snowmobile riders. These things

just didn’t want to get stuck.

I could slow down and make a mistake

right before heading up an eight-foot

vertical wall of powder on a sidehill, then

drop it into first gear and it would just pull

right up over the top with the ski in the air.

One of the bikes had an older 2Moto

conversion kit. Mangum was riding that

one. While he was wide open with the

throttle pinned and just barely crawling

through these spots, getting stuck constantly

whenever his speed would burn

off, the two of us on the Mountain Horse

kits could simply crawl through the worst

of spots without worrying about getting

stuck. I’m still amazed at how much fun we

had regardless of the snow conditions. It

was one of those days when on a sled you

do great as long as you keep your speed

up … but let off the throttle once or lose

your line in the trees and the bottom just

falls out from underneath and there is just

no traction once the tunnel gets bogged

down in the wet heavy snow.

Even as good as the snowbikes performed,

Mangum said they do much

better in better snow conditions. He said

the bikes are even more forgiving on the

corners in the powder. You can turn even

sharper on the hills with more speed.

And the bikes just float over the worst of

bumps and ruts. But we found that the

snowbikes really don’t require optimum

snow conditions to have fun. They are a

blast in all conditions.

Another thing that surprised me is how

well the front ski sticks to the snow. One

would think you would have to keep the

ski level or it would wash out in a turn. It

was just the opposite. The more you lean

the bike into a hill or into a turn the more

it sticks to the hill.

The Mountain Horse snowbike does

require a bit of a learning curve. You have

to trust the ski no matter what, even if you

are on a vertical sidehill. If you fall into

a deep tree well, you just steer into the

bank and the snowbike will pop right out

of it.

After almost a full day on the bike I was

able to start pulling some lines up stuff

one just does not take a sled up or even

dream of taking a sled across. Narrow

creek bed snow bridges with water underneath

are no longer an issue … and it

doesn’t matter if there’s a vertical wall on

the other side. You just hit it WOT and

pop on top. Or if you need to sidehill

across something, no matter how

steep it is, you just pin it and go.

You also can cover a lot of

country fast. You can fly across

stuff no matter how steep or how

tight … even through holes that swallow

the entire bike. These things hardly ever

get stuck. And even when they do, they

are easy to get unstuck.

After that first full day of riding, I could

see how these kits open up a whole new

set of possibilities—not only where you

can ride, but how much fun you can have

on three gallons of fuel. (And there’re no

belts to buy.) And it was great to be able

to throw three guys in a truck, drive to

the mountain without pulling a big trailer

and just go riding … almost like going

motorcycling, but in the snow. And since

that day I’ve been able to put a lot more

miles on the snowbike and my impressions

have only been reconfirmed. This thing is

awesome.

The Mountain Horse kit adapts to any

motorcycle.

The Down Side

Now that I’ve covered all the great

things about them, here are a few of the

negatives that I found.

First, once you stop the bike you must

put it in neutral to start it. (Not sure why

… I start my 450 in the dirt all the time in

first with no problems. But this is not the

case for the snowbikes.)

Second, not really a con but I felt the

Rekluse clutch was a must for the snowbike

… but then again, I also think it’s a

must for the dirt as well. But the stock

clutched bike also did well.

Third, the snowbike can be hard on

snowpants. Although I never burnt a hole

through my snowpants, I did smell them

from time to time … so it was probably

just a matter of time. I’m sure there’s

something that can be done to stop this,

but it is an issue that will need to be

addressed.

Fourth, there is a bit of a learning

curve. But nothing like time on the snow

to solve that problem.

Finally, iced trails are not the best. You

need just a touch of powder on the trail

to eliminate any darting. But regardless, if

you take it relatively slow, you won’t have

problems.

Q&A

Since my ride, I’ve received a lot of

questions about the Mountain Horse

system. Here are the most common questions

asked.

How much gas do you carry and how

far can you go?

We did a full day and burned about

2-2.5 gallons. Once you get used to the

bike Mangum says a good 60-plus mile

ride burns between three to four gallons

of fuel. And it is easy to carry extra fuel

on the back of the bike.

How often do you change out chains

and sprockets?

I looked at these aluminum sprockets

after the ride and they looked almost

new. Even after 1,500-2,000 miles they

still look in great shape … easily a full

season left on them. The snow just does

not eat them up like dirt.

How often do I tighten the chains?

After talking with Mangum, I would

check them twice a season, maybe three

times. But you shouldn’t have to tighten

them more than once a season.

Does the bike stand up on its own?

It does about 80 percent of the time

without much effort. The other 20 percent

you may have to find its balancing

point.

Is it going to work the crap out of my

bike and motor?

I ride the dunes a lot and I can say

the dunes are 10 times harder on the

bike than the snow. Most times you have

to get off the throttle and back on so

much … and also there are no air filters

to clean and dirt to get into the motor.

We’ve put 2,000 miles on one bike, which

is a lot, and it runs just like new … never

a top end or anything yet.

Is the cold weather going to take out

the seals and leak oil on the forks?

On the Yamaha and other 450s so far

it seems to do just fine without any leaks.

Now I’m sure some of you may have

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